Sunday, January 21, 2007

Head you Win, "Toll" I Pay ?

I have to drive down to downtown Kuala Lumpur the other day to attend to some personal matter. Guess what, we do have beautiful highways but the costs of using the highway is nothing but disgraceful and immoral ! Imagine, travelling from Subang Jaya to Kuala Lumpur, I need to pass through 3 tolls, costing an average of RM 13.20 for a round trip. Coupled with the high costs of Petrol, probably cost about RM 25 for a round trip, these high charges are politically sinful and socially immoral!!!!

Of course, I can always use the alternative route and keep my mouth of the grumpy complaints. But again, despite all the personal taxes, petroleum taxes, and road taxes collected, did the government made an effort to upgrade the existing alternative routes and made it comfortable for low income road users like me ? Your guess is as good as mine ! Why am I paying all these taxes for ? Feeding the rent seekers and parasites ?

Besides, all these toll concessionaires are given soft loans by the government to built and managed the toll roads, the government even guaranteed these toll concessionaires revenues and profitability. So, it is legitimate to raise the toll charges to ensure profitability for the toll concessionaires, otherwise, the government may have to "compensate" the concessionaires! I am sicked and tired of all these unconsciously incompetent people running around negotiating loop sided commercial contracts to socially irresponsible commercial enterprises. The said, these are prices of progress. BUT, have we progress ? If I protest, I will be perceived as trouble maker and unpatriotic !

Despite the promise of transparency, it is equally sickening to note that these infrastructure agreements between the government and the concessionaires are veiled in secrecy. Did the government made an efforts to disclose the agreements and its rationale for public scrutiny? What justification does the toll concessionaires have to increase the toll charges ? Why can't the government seek the toll concessionaires to transparently disclose their accounting books.

I do wonder, how much it costs to built the toll roads ? how much soft loans the government extend to the concessionaires, what revenue guaranteed and profit assurances are given by the government to the concessionaires ? Are we being force to pay exorbitant toll charges due to unfair practices and operational inefficiencies of the toll operators ? Does it make moral sense for the government to compensate the toll operators where the amount of compensations is significant compared to the cost of constructions ? Does it make sense for the government to guarantee the toll operators profitability and revenues ? What if the losses of toll operators are due to inefficiencies and questionable management practices ? Why are tax payers being subject to these immoral financial abuses ?

Poor wage earners (like me) are working our butts off to pay high assessment rate to the local town councils, high income taxes to the federal government, high "subsidized" prices for every litre of petrol, occasional summonses issued by the town council for parking tickets, and all sorts of direct and indirect taxes, etc... Now, I am also subject to pay high toll charges for using the "tolled" roads. In short, I and many generations of Malaysians are dubiously subjected to the mercy of the contractual agreements between the government and the concessionaires.

Somehow, I am getting the discomforts and ill feelings of being cheated by the government who intentionally leave out road users' welfares in the equation of balancing the rights of the concessionaires and the consumers like me. The scale is unfairly tilted to the side of the concessionaires. Lands are allocated to the concessionaires, taxes collected are being extended as soft loans to them by the government. Why can't the government use the money to be loaned out to construct new roads or to maintain and upgrade existing roads ? Is the government already arrogantly out of touch with the realities and plights of average Malaysians ?

Please don't get me wrong, I am all for economic progress and agreeable that, there is a price to pay for progress. But, at what price ? Are we building highways to foster economic progress, or, are we, in the name of economic progress, building highways to cause unnecessary financial burdens to all Malaysians ?

Higher toll ? Again and again ? I guess I am already very fed-up with these never ending demands for higher toll charges. I simply don't care anymore ! For that matter, the toll operators can even raised the prices by 1000% ! Anyway, 2008 general election is coming soon.... I have already made up my mind ! Happy Retirements to all those unconsciously incompetence, decadence, arrogance, ignorance, and rent seeking politicians.

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